


The Dead King

by Just_Will



Category: NaNoWriMo 2019 - Fandom
Genre: Brownies, Dwarves, Dwarves speak with a Spanish accent, Elves, Elves are Dicks, Everyone else is good, Fantasy, Gen, Gnomes, Goblins, Harpies, Humans, Inspired by Skyrim, Magic, Minotaurs, NaNoWriMo 2019, Naga, National Novel Writing Month, Orcs, Rough First Draft, Slyph, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-07 08:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21455278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Will/pseuds/Just_Will
Summary: Rion was a simple man with no real desire for anything grand.  That was before he started taking in various people of various races and eventually building a village with them that he somehow became the head of.Now though the life he has built is being threatened by the elves who rule the land they rest on the outskirts of. They don't demand much on the day they show up unannounced, they just demand the taxes they are owed for living on their territory, and if they don't pay then they are fine with them leaving, being jailed, or worse.Not fond of any of those options and knowing they can't actually fight the army that they have the elves then present a third choice to Rion: in exchange for their complete freedom all he has to do is locate and retrieve a sacred item that would guarantee their prince the right to the throne.With those his only options Rion decides to embark on a journey to retrieve this item and make sure his village remains free. But stronger forces at work might make his journey and this deal much worse than it actually could be.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> Ok really just putting this up here to get feedback on it later. It's rough and not likely as good as my other stories but this is a rough first draft after all and the point of it is to get it done, the second draft is when you start to polish it and get things done and straightened up. So for this rough first draft this is me pointing out that you don't have to write everything perfect the first go through and with a good editor and support you can turn anything into a gem. So here we go please enjoy my NaNoWriMo project for 2019: The Dead King.

Lifting his head back and taking a deep breath, Rion smiled as the scent of sweet grass and water reached his nose. The fields around them were healthy and the water from the river was fresh and steadily flowing without any of the lingering scent of algae that would come from the dimmer parts that had been upstream. They were almost home and he honestly couldn’t keep himself from smiling even though they had just been gone for two days now.

“We should be there in about another hour or so,” Rion told the two orc teenagers that were with him. When he did not receive any response he turned his attention from the horse in front of him to the wagon full or ore behind them and then chuckled to himself at the sight. The two youths were fast asleep atop the rocks without their shirts just at ease with everything like there was not a more comfortable place to rest.

With a fond shake of his head, Rion reached down for the simple spear he had with him in case anything attacked and then gently poked at Digger, the oldest and incidentally closest to him, with the blunt end, “Hey… Wake up you two. We’re almost back home.”

Groans came from Digger as he opened up his eyes to take in his surroundings before the managed to focus on him, “Uncle Rion? Geeze why’d you have to wake me up I was enjoying the sun.”

“Because we’re almost back to the village and you both have to help unload the ore to your sister’s forge as soon as we reach it and then you have to go wash up and start on dinner.”

“But I don’t want to cook dinner tonight… besides I suck at it.”

“Well tough,” Rion gave a stronger poke and gave him a firm no nonsense glare, “You know that your sister works hard at the forge for us all the time, making the small and delicate things we need for the village so the least you can do to help out is to make sure she has food to eat when she’s done for the day.”

“I know…” Digger pouted, “But still doesn’t change the fact I’m not good at it.”

“Well, all the better to learn while you’re young. After all one day you might find a orc girl to settle down with yourself and you’ll need at least some skills to prove yourself worthy of her, isn’t that how it goes for your race?”

“Yeah… I guess…” he muttered reluctantly and Rion reached over and rubbed his smooth head.

“Alright listen, after we finish unloading everything I’ll go clean myself up and come back to help you out some. Now wake up your brother and put your shirts on again; just because you’re as green as a lizard doesn’t mean you won’t burn as easily as I do.”

That caused Digger to chuckle a bit and as he reached for his shirt and to wake his brother Rion turned forward again and smiled at wat he saw. There just a clean straight path ahead of them was their small but growing village.

It had started out as just him, a simple man with a simple lumber mill that he used to build his own little house and sell the rest he didn’t need. It was a lonely life, but simple and he had all that he really needed. Then came the three orc children.

Digger, his older sister Peony, and their little brother Mort were orphans, their parents having been killed in a raid from an aggressive band of barbarians. They didn’t have much, the boys mostly just clothes and a few simple weapons and tools, while Peony had a bag full of blacksmith tools and equipment carried on her already broad back and strong shoulders. It was obvious that they were just traveling with no clear destination in mind, but Rion couldn’t help but offer them some food and shelter for the night, and after that they just hung around helping him.

Being raised human in a mostly human settlement, Rion didn’t really know much about orcs other than that they were much stronger than humans typically and celebrated warriors. That however was hardly anything and he was eager to learn about them as well as their race.

Apparently while they were a race that was strong and celebrated victories in battle with a zeal, they were also just as happy to work their lands as any other race. They were gifted smiths and with their stronger and more durable bodies they were able to forge and pound out far tougher materials than Rion had seen humans turn out. 

Another thing that had surprised him was learning that their women were the ones to tend to the forge and build things and that men were expected to deal with all manner of food. The men would hunt and farm and tend to the gardens while the women would forge materials, build, and fix things. Men were also expected ot tend to the children and it was only once a baby was weaned from its mother that most duties fell upon them. It was much different from what Rion had seen growing up.

Afer learning about how she was a fairly decent blacksmith, Rion had helped Peony build a small forge. From there he helped her make nails and tools that he had needed to fix his house and saved him a trip to the nearest village over a day away. From there the boys helped him with the lumber and she helped with repairs and even bettering the parts. It made the work easier and after only a week he offered to let them stay with him.

They were happy to stay with him and help him out and things continued on that way for a while. The boys would help haul lumber, Peony would handle keeping things running smoothly, and when they weren’t needed Digger and Mort would work gathering food, hunting, or tending to a garden they insisted they needed. It went on like that a steady day to day pace that Rion felt was easier than it might have been in even slightly circumstances until more came along.

First it was a small caravan or Naga that had been forced from their homeland when a natural disaster had struck. They needed a stable place to stay and the nearby caves made for an ideal location for them. The offered up their own skills and Rion found himself quickly agreeing.

Then came the minotaurs who were travelers looking for a new place to settle. They were strong, brought various types of new plants to eat, and were diligent so they also became part of their growing community.

And on it went. Every so often a new person or group would show up and if they wanted to stay they found a way to help with things around their growing community. Be it helping at the lumber mill, hauling materials, tending to animals, mining ore from a nearby mountain, tending to the sick or injured, or even just instructing the youngest on basic things like reading and writing, everyone found a way to contribute and now years later their small village had prospered and gained a good reputation as being a peaceful place to live full of strong and hardy people.

Through all the tough times and the good times though, everyone who came turned to him for leadership. He hadn’t realized it at first but with each new addition he became more and more of a pillar to the community, a keystone even. Everyone who had stopped had always asked him if they could settle down, even people who were related to those already settled here would first come to ask him if they could stay. It was endearing and Rion found it bit ironic given how he had ended up out there on his own to begin with.

Such thoughts though were not for then and as their horse finally pulled up to the wall that served as a gate and guard post he smiled up at a pair of minotaurs. The two there waved back at him with smiles across their muzzles and then went back to sitting around as he drove the cart on through. They were far from most other villages and had never had a problem with bandits or anything before so the guards they had up there didn’t often have much to do but still Rion felt it best to have with so many people around.

As the horse pulled them along the dirt road, Rion took in the sight of every building and structure he passed. They hadn’t been gone but for the day but his instincts would never let him not take in everything. He had to see everything he came across and make a mental note of any small damage that might require attention. These were his people now and this was his home and he had a duty to make sure it was as close to perfect as possible.

Strolling along he waved towards the various races and people they came across as they made their way to the lumber mill and smithy. While many things had changed over the years the place that had started it all hadn’t. The mill still worked and functioned better than ever providing wood for them, and Peony and her brothers lived in his old home next to it with a greater and far improved forge than the small thing it had once been.

“Hey, sis!” Mort called out from atop the pile of ore. 

“Mort! Get down from there before you fall off!” Peony called out as she rounded the corner of the house with an armful of wood in her arms.

As it had with her brothers, the years had certainly been good to her. Her bulky body had certainly grown even bulkier and now stood even with Rion now to which he was incredibly proud. Unlike her brothers, Peony also chose to keep a strip of pinkish red hair on her head that she kept tied up in a braid that went down to her shoulder blades. Despite her tough outward appearances though she was a sweet young woman and cared for her brothers greatly.

“Hello, Peony, how’s the forge today?” Rion called out as he eased the horse and their carriage to stop right in front of the smelter they had built within their first year of living with him.

“Oh it’s the same as it always is, nothing new I assure you. Some of the minotaurs brought in a broken plow that was completely destroyed though, seems like they hit a particularly large boulder in the fields that cracked the metal. Other than that and some orders for new axes and sharpening some knives the most I’ve been doing is making nails for the new dwellings Malsanred is building up in the caves.”

“Oh yeah…” Rion turned towards the nearby hills and thought about the naga that lived there making dwelling out of the caves that naturally existed there, “Malsanred mentioned recently that he’s been wanting to expand their home. Something about additions soon to come.”

“Yes he mentioned that as well,” Peony smiled and then turned to her brothers, “And were you two good for Rion and the dwarves? You didn’t cause any more mayhem did you?”

“I swear you accidentally set off a small fire spell and singe the hair off of someone one time and you never hear the end of it…” Digger complained as he started to hoist large boulders onto his shoulders towards the smelter, “We were well behaved, _mother_, stop worrying to much before your hair turns white.”

“I wouldn’t worry so much if I could trust you not to cause trouble,” Peony snapped back as she went to examine the ore, “And it wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been Horyx that you set on fire. You know he’s in charge and he demands respect.”

“That’s enough both of you,” Rion stepped between them to cease any more arguments and gave both of them his best green-eyed glare before turning back to the two brothers, “Now you boys hurry up and get this all unloaded, I’m going to go wash up and be right back.”

The three orcs nodded as they carried the ore and with that taken care of Rion walked away back to his new home in the center of the village. He hadn’t exactly wanted to move from the house he had built by the river, but after things had started to grow he decided it was best if he kept towards the center of the village if only so everyone could find him and he could manage things easier. It really wasn’t much different from his old home; small, simple, utilitarian, it had the basics that he needed and nothing much. With how often he was busy these days out working and keeping things running it he didn’t have much time to spend there anyway. Still it was nice and he liked it.

Walking the dirt streets he took in the sights of everyone going about their business. Somehow and someway everyone found a way to contribute to their village and Rion was so incredibly grateful for it all. There was a family of harpies who made candles and raised bees, a group of dwarves who made mead and raised grapes for whine, a few human families who helped wherever they could, and even a few halflings who had been scorned from their old homes that taught the magics of their homelands to better protect their new one.

It was something special, and something incredible, and as he walked towards his door he smiled at a slight ruffling sound he heard from inside. It was a soft noise but his sensitive hearing still managed to pick it up and as he opened his door he smiled at what he saw before him on his small table.

“Welcome home, Mr. Hawkings, it is good to see you have returned safe and sound,” A small feminine voice called out to him from the table next to the slices of cured meat on a plate laid out for him.

“It’s nice to be back, Pippit, and even better to see a small snack waiting for me,” he looked down at the small red haired brownie woman who looked back up at him with a fond smile.

Pippit and other brownies had made their home in their homes soon after they had been built. Magically gifted and endlessly loyal to those who were kind to them, the brownies were as welcome as anyone else. Requiring little room and only asking for milk, honey, crackers, and dried fruits as restitution for their hard work everyone loved them and they in turn loved their new homes.

“It is no trouble to provide sustenance for you, sir, will you be requiring anything else for the evening?” 

“No, Pippit, I’m good for the evening. I’m only stopping in to wash up and then heading back to Popey’s house to help her brothers with dinner.”

“Oh those boys…” Pippit shook her head quickly enough that he hair fell over her face, “You should let one of my cousins go and live there to help them, sir. They are near hopeless with kitchen duties and it’s only a matter of time before they burn the place down!”

“It is not in their way to allow others to completely do their tasks for them and for orcs, males are expected to do the cooking, Pippit, they’d consider it a great insult for someone to come and do their cooking for them when they could do it themselves… But, maybe having someone around to help and instruct them would be alright…I’ll ask when I go over there.”

“As sir wishes it,” and with a distinguished curtsy she vanished from his sight likely off to her own place of refuge in the ceiling.

Smiling to himself he grabbed a few pieces of meat and took a big bite out of them as he moved over to his wash basin. Filling it up with some water he splashed himself before grabbing his soap and washing his face. Once done he shook his head to get off most of the water and looked into his mirror and frowned. His brown hair was getting a bit shaggy and his beard even more so. He didn’t look bad but he knew he’d need to get himself trimmed soon if only to keep it all from getting in the way. Still looking himself over he couldn’t see anything off so with a quick wipe with a towel he pulled back and smiled at himself in the mirror.

He was a large man he knew that, approaching his fortieth year but he still didn’t look too bad given that most men his age tended to look much older. There were some streaks of grey mixed in with the brown hair, and some crinkles around his blue eyes but it made him look wiser in his opinion not old. His weathered skin though spoke of his years outside and facing the elements on his own but much like the grey and winkles the effect of his tanned and leathered skin made him look tough and intimidating instead of just old and decrepit.

Taking one last look at himself and finding himself to be presentable enough after a long day he turned and headed out the door. He knew he’d need a bath tomorrow but he didn’t smell too bad that it would be overpowering and off putting to the siblings. Besides orcs had a notoriously bad sense of smell so unless he showed up covered in manure and skunk spray he doubted they’d notice even his slight musk.

As he headed towards the river again a slight breeze blew past him and he caught a distinctively out of season floral aroma before a small green haired child appeared before him clothed in a green tunic and blue pants. Recognizing her to be one of the sylph that watched over the west side of the village he knelt down to her level concerned.

“Xiety, what’s going on? Did something happen?” While dependable the sylph did tend to be flighty at times given their affinity for air magics. They tended to be used mostly to relay messages around their home but more often than not just flew around certain areas watching over their territory of flower gardens, berry plants, and mushrooms. For one to come to him unheeded had to mean something.

“Mr. Hawkings! There is a group of people heading towards the village! They come in on carriage and horses dressed for protection. We can’t hear much from them, they is warded against being heard but they do not look like they come just to talk.”

“Damn it…” He growled out and had to take a deep breath to think, “Thank you, Xiety, alert the other guards. Tell them I want two stationed at each post in case something happens. Then tell the captain to meet me at the west gate. Once that’s done spread the word of what’s going on, tell everyone to stay in their homes except for the other heads. Tell them I want them to meet me there as well and that while I don’t want to attack right off to arm themselves discretely in case they are here for something and if you can find Hortin tell him to head our way as well. You get that?”

“Find the heads and tell them to meet you at the gate, tell the guards to stay in pairs, find the giant and tell him to meet with you as well. Yes, sir, I will not deliver the message as quick as possible, but faster than that!” With a nod of her head she vanished in a gust of floral wind, taking off to her task that Rion hoped would be as fast as they were typically known for.

Turning around he glared at the opposite direction and headed that way. He did not know who these people could be but if they were coming in carriages and their horses were armored it didn’t sound good. Best case scenario was that they were just some random nobles passing through or some higher ups that wanted something. Worse case scenarios though did no good to dwell on and he pushed those thoughts aside as he took quick steady strides to the west, keeping his gate even so as to not intimidate or frighten anyone as he passed all while hoping and praying that this was nothing serious.


	2. Elves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which royals are shown to be just as ugly as they think others are, a deal is made, and regrets are had.  
The elves come with a deal for their small village and Rion immensely wishes he did not have to play the part of diplomat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah the whole #Elves_are_dicks tag is up there for a reason. This story has a lot of elf hating in it because they're always depicted as "beautiful" and "cultured" and I just think that's stupid and there's a lot of other races that are just as good and even better looking than long face thin humans with long pointy ears. So here's your first look at what the elves of this world can be like as well as some of the other races that will be featured in it.

Standing in the middle of the dirt road under the west gate, Rion squinted his eyes against the setting sun. It had only taken him a few minutes to reach the gate and yet upon reaching it several of their guards had already gotten there and now stood nearby, ready for what was to come.

“Rion!”

He didn’t turn around at being addressed but simply nodded. A moment later a large minotaur stood by his side, towering half a body over his size. Casting a gaze downward Rion saw that he had a simple axe strapped to his belt that held up his pants that covered his otherwise bovine like legs. Looking upward he saw he had also donned a chainmail shirt and his hair arms were crossed over his expansive chest. Finally looking up at the black bull head and the large brown bovine eyes he saw the minotaur was just as tense as he was.

“That hardly took any time at all, Oaklen.”

“Xiety was quick to find me, Rion. The others will be here soon though, but do we know anything else besides what she told us yet?”

“No…” Rion sighed and looked back out at the fields for any sign of someone approaching, “I asked some of the gnomes to take a look if possible, but none of them have reported back just yet.”

“Do you think we’re being overly paranoid about this, my friend?” Oaklen asked hesitantly. He looked worried and while he desperately wanted to ease his friend’s worries something about this just wouldn’t let him.

“I think given what our village is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Too many other races look down on one or another of the ones that make this place their home and any of them would gladly kill us all to get to them alone.”

“So you think that whoever is coming will hurt us then?”

“As I said: it’s too soon to tell,” as soon as he spoke the words he felt a slight vibration from below his feet, looking down he saw a few tiny pebbles bouncing slightly and he knelt down for what was to come, “But maybe we’re about to find out.”

A moment later a small brown head popped out of the ground followed quickly by a furry brown body. Looking like a large mole but with a sentient looking face and the habit of wearing small shorts and string the gnome pulled himself out and looked up at Rion who had offered him his hand to be lifted up.

“Greetings, good day, great to see you! The name is Remy, Remy is being me, and Remy is the one who has the news of the travelers that are coming this way!”

“It’s nice to know who I speak to, Remy,” Rion stood up and held the small gnome in his palm so that he was eye level with him, “What can you tell us about these armored horses and carriages that got the sylph so upset?”

“The horses are big, much bigger than the ones here, huge maybe even!” He said while waving his clawed arms about, “The riders though look fancy, shiny metal coverings, well maintained armor without any dirt. The one at the front though, he was the one they all followed, he lead the way and had his helmet off. Yellow hair, pointed ears, fair skin, the hair was very blond, almost white, ears also large, long too, and smooth skin, not a mole or winkle on his face!”

“Elves…” Oaklen grunted and then snorted like he had just caught a whiff of something most foul and Rion couldn’t blame him.

The elves were a very magical and long lived race that tended to look down on the more ‘beastly’ races and even the more human looking ones like the dwarfs, giants, and orcs. Humans also weren’t too highly thought of either but given they tended to look the most like them, humans weren’t as greatly snubbed as the others, not that it made any difference to Rion. 

What these elves were heading here for though could be nothing less than bad. He knew they were technically on the edge of their high kingdom but they were still far away from any of their main settlements or villages. There was no reason that a group of elves, let alone ones that were likely high ranking in some nobility, should be heading towards them. Even thinking about what they could be heading for by passing through there was nothing and if they were trying to get somewhere important there were better and faster routes to take.

“Yeah, this is quite bad…” Rion took a deep breath through his nose, letting the scents of his friends and comrades around him and the sweet scent of the grass calm him before letting it out through his mouth, “They have to be coming here specifically for us.”

“What do we do?” Oaklen stamped his hoof a few times in a way that told Rion he was anxious and Rion thought for a moment on it.

“We let them come, and we let them talk and make the first move. If they try to attack we take them down first and then deal with things after the threat is stopped. If this is just some pompous elf posturing though as I’m hoping it is we’ll just listen to what they have to say and then deal with it however we can. We can’t actually face their army though so I would like to have this matter settled peacefully and calmly if at all possible.”

“Elves think too highly of themselves… It’d be easier just to slice them down the middle,” Oaklen responded with a sneer and more hostility than Rion had ever heard from him. When he turned to look at their captain of the guard he looked away not in shame but not in a way that his mind could be changed, “Forgive me, Rion, but it were the elves that drove me and my kind from our ancestral pastures when I was a calf. Said that they needed the land to mine for minerals and we didn’t have the strength to fight them. After that we traveled for years before we finally came here and started to live. I hold the elves nothing but contempt and if they give me a reason to kill one I will take it, but to maintain our way of life I will defer to your judgement first if that will make you feel better.”

“It would actually, thank you, my friend,” Rion nodded to him and then knelt back down to the ground and placed Remy back on the soil, “You did good work, Remy, you can go back to the others now. Keep vigilent and report back to me if you find anything suspicious, alright?”

“That I can do, it’s possible, will do!” And after giving a quick bow Remy dove back underground, the hole from which he dug sealing up right behind him.

“The gnomes are a pleasant enough race, but I feel tired every time they talk,” Oaklen joked before casting his eyes forward again.

“Be nice, they are invaluable to us just as everyone else…” standing back up he looked forward and let out a huff of air as the procession of evles finally came within his eyesight, “There they come… make sure to not remain tense…”

A few minutes later brought the group of elves to the edge of their territory. The horses that Remy had described as huge were even bigger than Oaklen, the one the lead rider sat upon being so tall that it could rest its head atop his. The carriage that was being pulled by equally large horses was elegant, covered in ornate metals that seemed extravegent but likely served more as armor to protect it than anything.

Taking initiative once they had drawn up Rion took a steady step forward and glanced up at the rider. He had the same pale hair and even paler blue eyes that the elf race was known for and that wasn’t even a single mark on his also pale skin. Pretty would have been an accurate word to describe him if the slight sneer didn’t twist Rion’s already slightly negative perseptions of them already.

“Welcome to the village of Mutinoca, I am Rion Hawkings, head of the village. May I please know to whom I speak and as to why you have journeyed so far out this way?”

“Insolent human,” the rider sneered again and turned his head away from him, “Our duchess: Lady Beryl, has been sent here by order of Prince Aglor. Apparently they need to speak to you about something. Now take us to a place where she may talk with you which I can only hope is not as filthy as you seem to be.”

A slight growl came from Oaklen and the rider cast a glare at him slowly lowing his hands towards his waist likely in order to draw a weapon if he had to. Oaklen meanwhile lowered his arms and put his fists to his waist in a similar fashion.

“We have a meeting hall where we discuss plans for our village. It is clean and serviceable and will do for whatever talks Lady Beryl has for us. As for being filthy I apologize but I just finished a hard day of work and hadn’t had the time to bathe properly before I was told we had people approaching. If I had had some forewarning I would have bathed and dressed better, please forgive me.” He bowed his head and smiled benignly knowing that how he spoke would have great consequences on how things procedded from there. By admitting his faults he showed humility and that he was ‘lesser’ than them as was proper for their kind, but the insinulation that they had just droped by without warning said that they only had themselves to blame for the lack of preparation that would have normally gone into things. It was a balancing act really, but thankfully Rion was excellent at such things.

“Very well, lead us to this hall of yours,” the rider did not deign to give his name or say anything else so with a casual glance Rion turned around and lead them inwards with Oaklen right behind him.

Taking a look at those they passed he saw nearly every single window had someone looking out from it. News had obviously traveled fast amongst them and now they were all curious and anxious about what was to happen. Rion waved to those he saw, trying to keep a smile on his face to reassure them, but he knew that even though they respected him and he was their leader that there was only so much he could actually do to ease their fears.

Xiety had likely spread the word about strange and questionable visitors and if she hadn’t the other sylph likely had. Combined with the gnomes that loved to talk and the brownies who spread gossip like fire to a dry field and he was sure everyone knew by now what was going on and were worried about it. The elves weren’t particularly kind to most of their kind and for some had even been the source of great misfortunes in their pasts.

As they walked a few other older people dressed casually but still subtly armed approached. A couple dwarfs, a pair of orcs, a male naga, a few humans, and up ahead he saw the one giant that made this place his home, though at a subtle hand gesture from Rion he stood back. The more magical beings that made the village their home kept out of sight though from what he saw and he only hoped that the elves didn’t have a way to detect them other than their inhanced senses.

“Is this it?” The rider asked snidly as they finally reached the center of the village and thus the largest structure they had built. It was just a simple hall, built long and tall for everyone to enter when discussions had to be had. The wooden walls and grass roof were simple, but it served them admirably and with how it had been built combinging so many different techniques it kept quite warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

“Yes this is our Main Hall. I tend to meet people here for problems and run things from here on days that it is needed,” Rion responded ignoring the sneer from him. It wasn’t fancy and made from marble, gold, and ivory, but they didn’t need that and if the elves didn’t like it they were free to go.

“I suppose this will have to do…” The rider huffed out and the climbed down his horse. Now standing on the ground, Rion saw that the tales about elves being tall seemed to be true. While not nearly as tall as the minotaurs were the rider was at least as tall as Rion was, though his long pointed ears certainly made him look even taller.

Quickly following his lead the rest of the elves that had ridden in with them climbed off their horses and went to tie them on the railing. Normally he would have told them they could store their horses in the stable with the other animals but he somehow felt they wouldn’t appreciate their animals sharing space with their ‘lesser’ ones. Regardless though Rion turned his attention from them to the one driving the carriage as he climbed down. While just as tall he wore a much simpler chainmail like shirt and finner pants than the others. Rather this was because he was just of a lower class than the other riders or because he simply drove the carriage he didn’t know, nor did he care as he walked to the door on the side, lowered some steps below it and cleared his throat.

“Presenting Lady Duchess Beryl of the high house of Verdania,” and with a bow he opened the door and a female elf stepped out. Her high heeled boots added to her already impressive hight and her tight braid made her look severe. The dress she wore was modest bust still Rion could tell it was likely silk dyed a deep green with silver embroidery that made him mentally cringe. She looked around for a moment before frowning with a very slight sneer obviously unhappy with what she saw and then stepping down the few steps to the ground.

Walking over to her he kept his posture neutral and his head level before he bowed slightly to her, “Lady Beryl, I am Rion Hawkings, welcome to my village.”

“Yes…” She drawled out and gave a slight curtsey, “Thank you for having us on such short notice. I’d apologize for it but that wouldn’t fix anything so I won’t bother.”

This was actually more than Rion would have expected from any royal elf so he’d take it even if she was far from being actually polite in what they were doing.

“Well so long as you don’t complain too much about our lack of anything proper to eat or drink I’m sure no one will mind,” he lied through his teeth knowing that everyone here would do their best to behave and keep the peace but minded terribly having to deal with whatever this was.

“Well you needn’t worry much on that front, come let us sit inside and we can discuss what we came for.”

It was a very polite way of saying ‘I don’t care let’s just get this over and done with’ to Rion’s ears but he was just as eager to find out what they wanted as they wanted to talk about it. Walking into the hall he tapped runes on the braziers that were set next to the doors and watched as they lit up with a modest flame. Walking around the room he tapped each new brazier he passed and let the runes ignite them. It was a nice simple magic that was simple to activate and he was glad for that as Oaklen walked opposite him and ignited each brazier he passed himself.

Once sat Oaklen took his place behind him and Lady Beryl walked towards the chair next to him. Neither chair was any different from the other but as she looked down at it he could see her fighting back a sneer and he had to hold back his own at how full of themselves these elves were. Still it came as no surprise when she snapped her fingers and the carriage driver that had followed her and her guards in drapped a fine silk blanket over the chair before sitting down, and even though he knew her dress hadn’t touched it he still made a mental note to have that chair burned as quickly as possible.

As the guards took their stations behind her, a few more people from the village came in. They all kept to the side not willing to be any closer to them then they needed to be and those that were more ‘beastly’ in their eyes kept even further back. It all made for a very tense atmosphere and that didn’t even take into account the magical creatures that were scurrying around above and below them.

A quick tug on the back of his tunic and a tap to his neck told him that Pippit was now here as well hiding within his hair and he was glad to have her there. She was a wise brownie and a good judge of character so he’d be able to get an even better insight towards things now he hoped.

“So, Lady Beryl, you must have come far, do you want us to pour you a glass of water? Or maybe some wine?” He looked over at a tray of wooden goblets that sat on a small table with a few bottles of wine and a pitcher of water and then back at her. She followed his gaze and had to fight back the urge to laugh at how her eyes went wide at the sight of wooden cups.

“Thank you for offering but no I shall keep this brief as it has indeed been a far journey and I wish to retire soon,” clearing her throat she folded her hands on her lap and met his eyes steadily like she was the one with the most power here, which she may have had at least politically, “It has come to our attention that this village sits within the boundries of King Adaman’s kingdom and yet you have never paid any restitution nor taxes towards us as you should and we have come to discuss such shortcomings on both your faults for not paying and ours for not coming to collect sooner.”

Rion could sense a change in the air at that and quickly raised his hand up to stop whatever argument that was about to emerge from his people. He knew the elves were full of themselves but this seemed odd even for them. He stared at her keeping his gaze even and unintimidated while still trying to figure out what she was really after. It just didn’t make any sense for a duchess or really any nobel to come this far out just to collect imagined taxes but he just couldn’t think of a real reason for this visit.

“I have lived upon this land and by the river for well over 15 years, Lady Beryl, and no one has ever come to collect taxes from me in that time. Likewise, this village has been growing and prospering for well over 7 years now and still we have never seen nor heard anything from the kingdom about taxes that we may owe. We do not receive aide from your soldiers nor any help from the roads traveled. We are mostly self sufficient and barely even need to trade to even close villages, so I fail to see why you would want to tax us when you hadn’t before. We are not very rich nor incredibly prosperous but we manage to get by so you won’t get many gold or copper coins from us.”

“Be that as it may be you are still a part of the kingdom and thus you owe us taxes, this is not a matter for debate,” she spoke as if it was fact and Rion could feel even his patience starting to thin.

“Let me put this another way, Lady Beryl…” he had to nearly work his jaw loose with how tense this talk was making her, “If this was really about taxes someone of your standing wouldn’t be here. You would have sent a small squadron of soldiers and they would have demanded money from us and threatened us if we didn’t comply. This is obviously not about imagined debts and owes otherwise you wouldn’t waste time like this, so please tell me what you really want with us so that we can try to make a deal.”

“I see that your little village was indeed wise to select a human such as yourself to lead them,” She smiled cruely at her words and again the tension rose. He knew what she meant by those words without even having to actually say it; she, like so many of her race, viewed all others as lesser, primal, dirty. It was disgusting and Rion felt a bit sick himself at how she put them in tiers, like he was somehow better than the rest just for looking more like her than other races.

“Regardless you are right on that matter,” She carried on as if what she said didn’t bring the weight of everyone’s furious eyes upon her, “This isn’t about taxes, though you should owe our king some for living on our lands even if it is far from anything… civilized, no, I am here to offer up a small deal.”

“A deal…” He parroted back feeling more cautious than curious now.

“Yes, now you living out here so far from proper people and means of hearing the news means that you haven’t heard about our King taking ill. He is quite old now as well and this turn in his health is likely a sign that we are soon to have one of his heirs inherit it.”

“I am aware of how the hierarchy works, My lady, but shouldn’t that be a simple matter of the first born child inheriting the crown then?”

“Oh if only it were that simple…” She sighed dramatically, “See the problem our kingdom faces is acutally a bit of a blunder. Our King was married to a wonderful elf woman, beautiful and pale, but for years they could not conceive, thus the king took a second wife in order to give him an heir. Lo’ and behold she was fertile and within a year of his second marriage she brought forth a son to him. That would have been the end of it, but sadly the first queen a few years later found herself with child as well and brought to him a daughter. Now if this was just from the same wife then it is obvious the son would inherit the throne, but because the first wife gave birth the daughter technically takes presidence on the order seeing as she was queen first.”

“So the girl is next in line for the throne, but I take it the boy has issues with that?”

“You would do well to speak of the royal family properly, Mr. Hawkings,” Lady Beryl sneered ever so slightly maring her otherwise perfect features, “But yes you are correct, and thus why I am here.”

She snapped her fingers and again her carriage driver came over and laid out a scroll on the table which she unrolled. Looking at what was on it, Rion frowned. It was a map of someplace he hadn’t seen before and various markings, words, and drawings that he couldn’t make out from his angle easily.

“What you see here is a map of an old island that our royals would be buried in ages ago. Sadly around a century ago a war was fought and we lost the lands that lead to the ocean that would take us there. Thus we now have a closer means of disposing of the dead in a proper and less expensive way.”

“This is all well and good, but I do not understand why any of thi has anything to do with your next King or Queen.”

“I’m getting to that if you’d be patient,” Lady Beryl said with an edge to her voice, “You see both sides have others backing them on gaining control of the throne, many want the prince, others want the princess. The issue then becomes one of who can gain the support of the people and the prince believes that the best way to gain that is with a particular item located in the old tombs, particularly,” with another snap of her fingers a piece of paper is laid out atop the map and even upside down, Rion can see that it’s a crown of some complicated design, “This: the High Crown of King Domnaid, his dynasty is what we are currently under stretching back over 150 years. Prince Aglor believes that if he were to recover his ancestor’s crown that he’d be able to gain the support he’d need to take the thrown. That is where you come in.”

“You want me to break into an old royal elf tomb and steal a crown for you?” Rion couldn’t keep the incredulousness out of his voice at that no matter how much he likely should have, “Why? Why not just do it yourselves or do something else that doesn’t involve defiling a tomb and your ancestorrs?”

Another snap, and honestly Rion was getting a little fed up with that and a small huff from behind his left ear told him he wasn’t the only one, caused a new map to be laid out and looking closer at it he saw the island and frowned immediately at what he saw.

“I take it that answers your first question?” And indded it did. The island was far past the shores of what was essentially Dragonoid territory. A fierce powerful race that rivaled the elves in all manners it seemed but where the elfs were humanoid the dragonoids were reptilian and beast like which meant the elves looked down upon them. They had been at odds for longer than anyone could remember and most of the time if one of them were caught on the other’s territory they were killed quickly and without mercy. It was a mess of an issue that all the other ‘smarter’ races kept clear of but it seemed like Rion would not be able to avoid this one.

“It does explain why you can’t just go and get it yourselves, but that still does leave the question of why there isn’t a better option for you all.”

“The crown is not only a huge sign of our history but is made from Myrthyl metal and the gems that are inlaid in the design contain great magical power. Thus it is something that many people would think highly of our Prince for. After all if he were to wear the High King’s crown than few could say that he didn’t deserve the throne.”

“fascinating…” Rion sighed and rubbed at his head, “And if I were to refuse to do this for you?”

“Then you will have to pay the years of taxes that you owe, including the interest for how late you were in payments and having to force us to spend our resources to come and collect what is owed us,” she shrugged and Rion had to dig his nails into his palms to keep him grounded, “And if you can’t pay what you owe… well there’s other methods we can use to alleviate your debts.”

Before Oaklen or anyone else could say anything, Rion raised his hand and those that had started to move aborted their motions and sat back. Only when he was certain they wouldn’t dive at the woman at rip out her forked silver tongue did he clasp his hands under his chin and lean forward looking her straight in the eye.

“And I assume that if I take this deal then you’ll erase these imagined debts of ours?”

“See, I knew from the moment I saw a human in charge that you’d understand. Oh if only you weren’t so brutish…” She sighed dramatically like she wasn’t blatantly insulting him to his face and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to rise, “With your intelligence and ability to tame beasts like these I’m sure you’d make an excellent addition to a lesser house, though only as an addition and not to be grafted into any lines. That would be horribly improper.”

Rion knew she was pushing her luck with them. He listened to the sounds of those around him. Oaklen was breathing harshly through his nose, the naga were starting to hiss, and one of the male drawves was tapping his metal cane rather harshly against the floor; they were all on edge and Rion knew he had to settle things before someone on their side exploded.

“It seems a little like you’re getting more out of this deal than we are, my lady,” Rion said smoothly and when her eyes focused on him again he carried on, “If I accept this deal then once you have the crown I think it only fair that you allow our village to become independent of your kingdom. We require nothing from you and you need nothing from us. We aren’t truly worth the time and effort to collect taxes from and any good we produce can be gotten closer to your capital easier and cheaper. So what do you say?”

Beryl frowned ever so slightly in thought before she nodded, “I think that if you are able to procure the crown for our future king then that will be more than simple enough. We really don’t need anything from this far out anyway so I suppose it is a very minor loss if we can’t collect taxes from here. Not worth the effort at the very least.”

“But still worth the effort to threaten us with,” he said blankly and she just shrugged at the accusation.

“We need that crown and we need people who are obviously not associated with us to travel through the bat-winged lizards’ territory, your lot seems resourceful enough to be able to handle a simple task like this. Now it has been a very long day and I’d very much like to retire to my carriage to bed for the evening; what is your answer?”

Rion stared at her for a moment and then let out a breath that ended in a soft whistle while looking up like he was thinking on things. In reality it was a signal to the watching sylph and they worked their magic around everyone so that he could hear their whispers while shielding the elves from hearing them with their incredibly sensitive ears.

“We can’t trust them.” He heard from someone.

“We don’t have a choice in the matter though, they’ll just extort us if we don’t.”

“Surely there’s another option here, maybe if we think and talk about it tonight…”

“She’s not giving us that time though, she’ll leave tonight and have an army at our borders within a week if we don’t say yes.”

Comment after comment was made and Rion listened to each and every one as they came. They were in a horrible position and they all knew it but there really was little that they could do here. Finally with a sigh he stood, signaling the end of everyone else’s conversation and bowed to Beryl with his arm across his chest.

“I will need some time to prepare, Lady Beryl, but I will take on this assignment so long as you agree to uphold your end of the agreement.”

“That can certainly be arranged,” And with that she stood and started to walk towards the doors, “You may keep those, they are just cheap copies anyway, the rest of you come. I wish to retire now.”

With that command her guards and her driver, who quickly and efficiently folded up the blanket she had sat upon, walked out leaving the recidents to the village behind. Everyone gathered around the table where the documents were still laid out.

“We’ll need to plan on how w’ere going to do this,” Rion addressed the crowed looking around and meeting the eyes of everyone as he went, “I can do a lot but I’ll need help. I doubt if they buried something like that they would have left it unguarded at least magically, though I don’t doubt they also added any number of other traps in order to get to it as well.”

“We still can’t trust her!” One of the orc men said and he looked so frustrated that his face was turning brown, “Their kind keeps their word to the letter but not the spirit of the promise. They’ll work around how they worded something just so they can make it seem like they’re doing exactly as they said. Bunch of snakes.”

“I know this,” Rion sighed out in frustration, “But given the alternatives this is really the best we can afford right now. We can’t risk starting a war with them when a single battalion of theirs likely out numbers our entire adult population two to one.”

“You’re not going alone, that much is certain, but do you have anyone in mind that could go with you and be useful for this stupid mission?” Oaklen asked as he leaned over the maps to study them, “based on the topography I’d say it’d be a week’s journey at a steady pace just to reach the shore, from there who knows how long it would take to get into that crypt and find this blasted crown of theirs.”

“I’ll have to ask for any further material they have before they leave, other than that I have a few ideas on who I should take with me.”

“I will go with you, sir!” Pippit spoke up and Rion looked down at her in surprise.

“Since when does a brownie like you want to go on a long and dangerous adventure?”

“Since it is clear that you will be needing as much help as you can personally get, Mr. Hawkings! Besides we have a good set of magic ourselves so maybe I can be of further help to not only you but our home and the homes of the rest of my kind here as well.”

“Fine, Pippit, any others here want to voulenteer for what could very well be a suicide mission?” He joked though there was a nagging sensation in the back of hhis mind that this could indeed end up being a very risky venture for them.

“I will accompany you, Rion.” Oaklen immediately stepped forward to wchi Rion immediately glared at him.

“No,” When his eyes went wide and it looked like he was going to argue he held up his hands and maintained eye contact, “Oaklen you’re the captain of our guards, you’re the strongest fighter we have and someone who I trust with the welfare of the villaga when I’m gone. We can’t afford to have the both of us gone at once, especially when there’s a threat like her around.”

“Then take my eldest son, Koiya, with you.” He suggested with as much a demand as he could, “He is strong and capable and I would trust him with my own life and the well being of this village if I were to die tonight.”

“Well hopefully that won’t be an issue for many years to come yet, my friend.” He turned to the rest of those that had gathered, “Anyone else?”

“Si, I will accompany you,” A lady dwarf stepped forward, her bushy brown hair spilling down her shoulders down to her waist where she had a very ornate sword strapped to her belt.

“Caroline?” Rion stared at her surprised, while the female dwarfs were typically the fighters of their race they were also the caretakers for the males who spent much of their time underground digging up minerals and precious gems that they tended to have very poor eyesight, most reaching blindness before they’re 50th year of age and Caroline had a husband who not much older than him was already almost unable to see more than a foot in front of him.

“Yancy is doing fine these days, he can navigate the house and he has the other girls around to help him and the boys too. Besides this is a elf crypt which means it’ll be underground or in a cave and there’s no one you want more in such an environment than a dwarf!”

“Well I can’t fault you on that logic, Caroline,” Rion chuckled as he looked out at the rest of those gathered, “Anyone else wish to join?”

“You should ask Malsanred to join you,” an older orc who’s red hair was streaked with white from age spoke up, “She spoke of this crown being magical. There’s no telling what other spells, incantations, barriers, and the like have been set up to protect it and their dead and Malsanred is the strongest mage that we have. He’ll be useful for this and if while you’re there he finds something useful that we can make use of…”He grinned slyly showing off his teeth and tusks, “Well no one will know if something there goes missing, yes?”

“Yes… that is true,” Rion conceded and noticed that the naga Malsanred wasn’t present, “But where is Malsanred? I would have expected him to come by for something of this magnitude.”

“When he heard that we might be expecting trouble he elected to stay behind in the caves to prepare for any worse case scenarios,” One of the attending naga explained, his tail coiled up under him like a spring making him look even taller than his kind typically were, “I’m sure though that with the meeting over now one of the sylph can go and ask him to come meet you if you like.”

“No,” he shook his head and looked up at the rafters where several of the sylph were perched listening to them and awaiting any orders, “But if one of you could go and tell him to prepare for a journey to the ocean and a crypt belonging to elves and that I’d be by in the morning for us to depart I would appreciate it.”

With a nod one of them vanished from sight leaving behind a soft scent of mint rafting down upon them.

“I think that will be all that will be needed. Now it has been a very long day and a very tense evening and I’m sure you all want to get back to your homes and rest. Oaklen, please help your son to pack for the trip and make sure he has all that he could need, Caroline I would appreciate it if you could study the maps and plan us a route before we depart tomorrow, and Pippit,” he held his hand to his shoulder and let her stand upon it as he moved it in front of his face, “If you have any charms and wards that you can make for us tonight please do so and then get some rest. It’s going to be a long journey and I’m not sure how much milk and honey we’ll be able to come across during it.”

“As sir wishes,” Pippit bowed and then vanished with a puff.

“Well then, on tha note unless anyone has anything else to say…” He looked around and one by one they all shok their heads, “Then I call this meeting adjourned. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

With that he started to head towards the doors with everyone else following right behind him. As he walked past the brasiers he touched the runes again and they extinguished themselves.

Once out in the open air, Rion took a deep breath and took in all the scents that were around him. He could smell meals being kept warm, wood burning in fireplaces, the fresh scent of the river ever present over everything, the scent of the flowers the sylph carried with them on the breeze, and all the other things that made this place his home. This was where he had lived for years without any of the kingdoms bothering him and now this had dropped on their doorsteps. It was a mess and it made him want to run back to Beryl and rip her throat out with his teeth, but that would just cause more problems than they solved.

No, as much as he didn’t like it he knew that the best course of action for now was to give in to her simple demand. With any luck that would be the end of it, if not they could always just pack up and make a home for themselves elsewhere. They were a resourceful bunch after all so it wouldn’t be too hard he supposed.

Still, those were thoughts for later. Right now he was hungry and the smell of burning meat and vegetables quickened his pace as he headed back towards where the three orc siblings lived, hoping that he could somehow help salvage whatever it was that Digger was cooking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A deal with the devil is still dealing with the devil. This is not something Rion wants to do but it's something he's going to have to do since its in the best interest of his village.  
With that being said please be kind with critiques as this IS still a rough draft and there's bound to be a few errors scattered about.


	3. Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few insights to the last few races of the village proper and how some are different than the others before the journey begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that when you read anything spoken by dwarves or Caroline here that you should imagine them speaking with a Spanish accent. I don't know why I decided to give them Spanish accents but I just know the old English and Scottish "Aye, lad" was cliche so I decided to change it up a bit. Everyone else though speaks with different dialects of English, the Elves are proper and snooty, the gnomes are childish, slyph are high pitched, the naga are smooth, and the minotaurs are deep voiced. Though really how you decide to read them is up to you.  
Also points to anyone who can guess the naming scheme I have for the nagas and the minotaurs.

The early morning dew still covered the grass and flowers of the mountainside where the naga made their home. Rion had told them that they could gather up rocks and carve stone in order to make homes for them closer to the village but they had all denied the offer preferring the natural caves. It made it difficult to talk to them when emergencies happened what with them being on the outskirts of the village so far away from anything, but if it made them happy then Rion wasn’t going to complain unless it seriously impacted them, and so far it hadn’t.

Walking along the path towards the caves, Rion took in the sights of the many males slithering about. The naga were an interesting example of a race in that their gender ratio was more off than most other races. For humans, Minotaurs, orcs, and even brownies the ratio of males to females was close to one to one but for nagas the ratio was closer to six males to one female. It made couplings and family dynamics much more different from what Rion had ever seen but then again he was a firm believer in leaving other people alone as long as they weren’t hurting anyone. Case in point: the two young adult naga males that were coiled around each other, kissing and rubbing against each other near the entrance to one deep cave. It wasn’t anything too overt and they had their loincloths still on though so he merely coughed to get their attention and when they turned to look at him they smiled bashfully and pulled apart a bit though they still kept their tails entwined.

“Greetings, Mr. Hawkings. Are you here to see Sir Malsanred?” The taller of the two asked his scalled hood relaxed and looking only slightly flushed.

“I am Previ, is he in?” He jerked his head towards the main cave only to hear a rumbling from another on further away from them.

“No, Sir Malsanred and Miss Twen are down there,” the smaller naga, Broca answered pointing towards another cave where the rumbling had come from, “They’re working on expanding the subterranean caves for emergencies and also gathering the amethysts that grow there to grind up for their nest. Miss Twen is due soon after all and they need to get ready!”

“I bet they do, thanks boys, you can go back to whatever it was you were doing,” he smirked and gave them a wink as he walked away and toward the cave. As he got closer the rumbling got louder and once he reached the entrance he could not only feel the vibrations through the boots on his feet, but he could also feel the vibrations in the air.

“HELLO?” Rion called into the cave as loudly as he could. He trusted the integrity of the cave as much as he would the trees he walked under, but he didn’t want to intrude on anything that might have been going on that could cause trouble if he surprised someone either, “MALSANRED? TWEN?”

“We’ll be right out, Sir Rion!” A female voice echoed from deep within the cave and he stood back and waited.

Barely a minute later a female naga slithered out and out and out and Rion couldn’t help but compare another key difference the naga race had as compared to others. While between most other races the differences in size between males and females were noticeable but not grand, the naga were much more extreme. The males themselves had tails that were twice as long as a man was tall and holding themselves erect they tended to stand higher than the typical horse. The females though were another matter. Their tailes alone were four times as long as a normal man was tall and when one held herself up they rivaled the size of an adolescent giant nearly twice the height of most men.

Despite their large size and snake like appearances though, the naga were a peaceful people gifted in magic and lore as well as physical strength that rivaled many other races. After getting to know them better, Rion actually did not see anything that was scary about them. They had sharper teeth than humans did and they had various snake like traits that differed from one to another, but they were friendly and kind. Sure the males could out slither a galloping horse if the terrain was favorable and the females could crush a boulder with their tails but those were just special things about them that made them even more useful to the village and not frightening at all in his opinion.

“Ah, Sir Rion, it is good to see you,” Malsanred greeted as he slithered out behind his wife, a satchel in his arms that looked to be full of something thrown over his shoulder, “I hope you weren’t waiting so long for me that you had to come fetch me, I wanted to get a light harvest of these amethyst gems before we left is all and I thought we’d be leaving a little later in the day.”

“No, no, its fine I just wanted to come and check in with you on everything and make sure you had everything you might need for this treasure hunt we’re being sent on.”

“I must say, Sir Rion that none of us are happy about this and if we weren’t being actually threatened by the elves then none of us would support this.” Twen said carefully, “Be that as it is though we realize that this is for the best, we just want it known that we don’t like it.”

“I don’t like it either, Twen, but given our options it is the best. We’ve come under the sights of the elves and if doing this grants us even some semblance of invisibility to them then I think it best if we take it.”

“I understand,” She sighed, “I just don’t have a good feeling about any of this is all…”

“It will be alright, dear, you needn’t worry,” Malsanred said gently, “Why don’t you go back to the nest and look things over. We’ll be right behind you.”

With a slight nod, she pulled herself up and slithered off, though not before Rion caught a view of her swolled abdomen right where the human skin became snake scales. A oblong curve outward that was just barely noticeable had formed on her body, and Rion was immensely happy for them every time he saw her growing with their clutch.

“I think she’s mostly just nervous about the pregnancy, first time expecting mothers I’ve seen always tend to fret about everything until they’ve pushed out their young.”

“You may be right, Malsanred, but she is right to worry,” Rion crossed his arms over his chest, “But I did not come to discuss rather or not this really was the best course of action. I came to discuss things and to see if you had any idea on what we might expect.”

“Between here and the ocean northeast of here I doubt we’ll have any real problems. We may run into some bandits or thugs who will try to steal from us, but that’s something we would encounter no matter where we went. There are some magical beasts that exist but they’re rare and unlikely to attack unless we attack first, so I think overall our trip will be relatively peaceful.”

“I hope so, Malsanred, and what do you think we will encounter at the crypt?”

It was there that the naga frowned, “Nothing good, Rion… Elves are very powerful and have a great deal of magical talent. Mix that in with their our overly inflated pride and egos and it is very likely that they have curses, traps, and barriers set up all over the place that will make even accessing the island a problem.”

“Beryl left behind some maps, diagrams, and other such things about the island. She wasn’t very forthcoming about much, but I am hoping that somewhere in everything she left us at least something will be helpful.”

“I’ll have to study them while we journey then… I take it the rest of our little group is ready, though?”

“Almost, I think Caroline had a few things she wanted to get straightened out before we left and Koiya is getting some of his armor readjusted before we leave, but otherwise we’re ready.”

“Good,” Malsanred started to slither away back towards where Rion had come from, “I will meet you at the eastern gate within the hour then. I just want to do a second check on everything and I will head that way.”

With that taken care of Rion nodded and head back towards the village proper. He was nervous about leaving his territory, his home, for the days it would take to get there and back. Since he had settled there he rarely spent more than a day away from his a former house. Now he was often times so busy trying to run things that he rarely had time to get away even if he wanted to. 

It was strange he supposed. Most people didn’t like to be tied down to one area, to one place, most people enjoyed or wanted the freedom to go off and longed for more. Rion never really wanted ‘more’ though, he was always just happy with the things he gained and never really thought about what it would be like if he had more. There was just never a need or point to it so he just kept himself content with the things he had.

Now with the thought of going away for days he felt nervous. As if the moment his home was out of sight it would somehow vanish forever. He knew he was being ridiculous and paranoid, but the whole situation had him on edge and scratching at his beard.

Eventually he made his way back to his home and he sighed as he examined the door frame as he stepped through and then everything inside. Still not a great deal made up his small home but he could still see the small things that made it his. His bed with the sheets and blankets folded up to be quickly unfolded at night, the few plate he had that he had carved himself, the small chest that held various tools he’d made when he first came here, all of these were small details but still made this place seem truly his.

“There you are, Mr. Hawkings,” looking up he saw Pippit dressed in a small brown tunic and a satchel over her back, “I was beginning to wonder if you’d be back here.” She had her hair tied back and looked ready for their trip even carrying a small dagger on his waist, though it was more like a thorn to someone of his size.

“Yes, Pippit, sorry I was off talking to Malsanred about a few things I wanted to bring up with him before we departed. Are you ready to go?”

“I am, I also finished sewing the wards you asked of me into your clothes. I’ll sew the diagram into the others’ fabrics on the way. It’s not much but it will alert us to the presence of something with any intent to harm us. I also have a few charms I had used before that will keep us warm at night should we need it. Will there be anything else you believe?”

“No, I think so long as we have provisions, some weapons, bedding, and normal travel things we’ll be good. Why don’t you go to the east gate and wait for everyone and if anyone gets there before we’re ready to leave you can sew in your wards.”

“As sir wishes,” And with a bow she vanished leaving him behind and alone once again.

Not wanting to keep the rest of his small group waiting, he quickly pulled together a pack of a few essential things and packed them into his own bag. After a little debate he strapped a small dagger into his boot and a serviceable axe on his belt. He honestly hoped he wouldn’t need the weapons but it didn’t hurt to be prepared either. Finally he pulled a floorboard up that was under his bed and brought out a small satchel of coins and grabbed a few before stashing the rest back. He didn’t have much in the way of money but he hoped that he had enough for anything they might need.

Finally with one last look around to make sure everything was alright he left his home, locked his door, and headed toward the gate. The sun was still low, but by now the village was bustling with people truly starting their day and getting things done. Despite everything that had happened there seemed to be no residual tension in the air from the elves barging in on them. It was nice and Rion hoped that things could continue like this while he was gone.

“There you are!” A happy deep bellow reached his ears and Rion perked up as he saw a young Minotaur waving at him from the stone archway that made up the east gate. A large bull that was easily recognizable by his slightly crooked left horn and the splotches of brown on his otherwise black fur, Koiya made for an intimidating sight despite the fact that the teenager was more often than not smiling.

“Koiya, it’s good to see you here already, ready to go?”

“Yep! Dad made sure I was ready for nearly anything. I’m not sure what we’re going to face but I think between us all that we can handle nearly anything.” Looking the young man over Rion had to agree that he looked well equipped. He had a battle axe strapped to his back, a leather cuirass covering his impressive torso, metal greaves on his legs and forearms and a sword strapped to his waist. He almost looked like he was going off to fight in a war instead of a simple treasure hunt, but given how Minotaurs always prepared for fights to occur soon he couldn’t really blame either bull on how he dressed.

“You look ready for anything, certainly, but did you bring a bag for any supplies you might need?”

“Oh yeah, no I have one it’s just sitting over there,” he pointed at a shaded part of the arch and Rion finally saw the large sack that was moving around seemingly on its own until Pippit popped out holding a piece of fabric.

“Ah, very good then, and I see Pippit is here as well… now we just need-“

“Malsanred.” A sudden female voice interrupted him and Rion turned to see Caroline standing behind him, dressed in a chainmail shirt, her hair done up in an elaborate braid, respectable leather pants, and boots that were made using a special dwarf technique that used metal to make a strong fabric like material that they made their boots and gloves out of.

“Caroline, so nice to see you here as well. Everything stable at your home?”

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t, Senior, but I take it then that all we have left is to wait for Malsanred? We are ready otherwise?”

“That we are, and it looks like we won’t have to wait any longer now either, here he comes,” Looking behind her and far down the path, Rion saw Malsanred slithering their way, dressed for travel with a simple robe covering his human body, pouches full of no telling what strapped to the belt around his waist, and a pair of sacks of his own, one around his shoulders like theirs and another larger one around his upper snake part.

“Sorry I took a little longer; I wanted to look into a few things and also had to help crush up those gems for the nest.”

“It’s fine, Malsanred, stop fretting so much,” Rion replied fondly as he turned to the gate, “Are you sure you’re up for this though? I know Twen is heavy with your eggs and due any day now.”

Malsanred let out a hissing chuckle all while shaking his head, “No it is fine, it is not like how things are for those who give live birth, the laying of eggs is easy and uncomplicated, the hatching is the important part that we long to be there for, though that will be many weeks even after the eggs are laid.”

“Ah, si, that is right, you are going to be a poppa soon,” Caroline said with a smile on her weathered face like the mother of six that spoke of so many fond memories, “How many do you think she’ll have? You hoping for anything in particular?”

“So long as they’re healthy I’d be fine with just one egg, though looking at her I’d say we could expect at least three or four or maybe even seven if we’re lucky, and while I’d be fine with healthy boys I’m really hoping we have at least one girl.”

The two conversed about his future children as they made their way out of the gates at last. Rion took one final look back once they crossed it and sighed as their journey officially began. He had no idea what they were going to face, but looking ahead of them at the rising sun he at least knew that he was in good hands and their home was as safe as it could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so they start their journey. Dangers and trials await them as they leave their home, and what lies ahead for them and what lies in wait for when they journey home is a mystery to all of them.


	4. Harpies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While entering a new town should be easy, strangers aren't often welcomed which can lead to some rather interesting first impressions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's a good adventure story without a side quest or going to a new town and listening to rumors? A bad one I tell you, or at least one that's not as good as this one, though that's a matter of opinion and up for you to decide.

“So I have decided that the first thing we need to do is to find the nearest village and see if we can buy a better map than these scraps that bruja left us.” Caroline spoke up after they had walked for a good hour.

“They’re that bad?” Rion hadn’t exactly gotten a very good look at the maps Beryl had left them last night but he had assumed that they were at least serviceable.

“Bad? HA! That’d be a compliment! These things barely mark out anything important other than a few rivers and a mountain range. They didn’t even mark down anything between their capital and their crypt, I suppose nothing was worth the effort putting it to paper.” Caroline huffed and pulled out a map of her own that she held out before her spread out wide. Rion looked down at the map and studied it for a moment before he frowned as well.

“This is a better map, but not as detailed and quite old. It has marks of trade routes between our small village and a few days travel from each direction. Don’t have many reasons to go that far so never bothered to make a more detailed version or get a larger one, but that’s just how we dwarves are. We settle and we don’t tend to stray.”

“Then why are you coming with us, ma’am?” Koiya asked front the front of their little prescession.

“You’re going to a crypt inside some dank caves! You’ll be needing someone who knows caves and has a basic understanding of them at the least, and some dwarf magic can’t hurt in such a place either. Besides just because we don’t tend to doesn’t mean we don’t ever! How do you think we got to our little village to begin with?”

“Alright, settle down, Caroline it was just an innocent question he didn’t mean anything by it.” Rion placated trying to keep any arguments from happening.

“Froms the look of the map here,” Pippit spoke up from Caroline’s shoulder, “I’d say we could reach a small town sometime in the afternoon. They might have some good maps maybe?”

“Maybe…” Caroline agreed and squinted down at the map, “No telling though, either way that will most likely be our best bet to bunker down for the night. I don’t want to travel or be out at night any more than we have to.”

“Agreed,” Malsanred nodded, “My kind particularly do not like to be out in the open come night time.”

“Well then that’s settled, we’ll just keep going and try and reach this place and gather some information on the geography further out and then bunker down for the night. Hopefully there’s an inn at least that’ll take us all.”

And thus they continued to trudge on. They were all rather hearty and the weather was pleasant enough so they didn’t bother with stopping for lunch when the time came. Opting instead to just break out some provisions and munching on them as they walked along.

Finally as the sun was starting to set in the west Rion lifted his head and smiled. He smelled a scent on the breeze that was no mistaking for anything but horses and looking over at Malsanred who was tasting the air with his tongue and Koiya who was taking deep breaths through his muzzle he could tell he wasn’t the only one.

“Smells like we’re close to a stable if nothing else,” Koiya supplied them and Rion agreed with him.

“It sure seems that way, hopefully not much longer now,” he said squinting off into the distance hoping to catch some sight of the town.

As they walked along Rion started to notice a few stone walls set up along the road. He wasn’t sure why they had been built like that but the further they went the more signs of civilization he saw. Wooden fences around growing wheat were sectioned off in one area, and looking out at the field he saw a few human sized people off in the distance. It was a good sign if nothing else and when they came to a small house Rion couldn’t help but smile as beyond that was a stone road that would surely lead to the town.

“We really did make good time,” Caroline said appreciatively, “And that’s good because I could sure use the rest.”

“Feet hurting you?” Rion asked concerned.

“Just a bit, but don’t fret. It’s nothing a warm soak won’t solve later.”

“And that is something I can easily help with,” Malsanred fondly supplied.

Conversation picked up amongst them as they continued to walk, and Rion would have normally joined in, but something felt off to him. He kept glancing around expecting to see someone watching them, but even as the buildings of the town came into view he didn’t see anyone of mote. A few humans off in the distance fields were all he saw and even from a great distance he could see that they were preoccupied with their fields and had no interest in the roads.

“Is everything alright, Mr. Hawkings?” Pippit asked resituated on his shoulder, hiding under his hair.

“I just feel like something is off… you said the wards you sewed into my clothes will warn us of any threats directed towards us?”

“Well yes, that is what it will do or should do at least… If someone has something to nullify magic and uses it on us then it won’t work but I doubt that anyone would waste something that powerful out here on some random chance of it being needed.”

“Is there any other reason that might cause it to fail? I do not doubt your talent nor your power, Pippit, but something is telling me there’s something watching us and if it’s hiding then odds are it isn’t friendly.”

“Hmm… well it only alerts us to threats… if it’s not an actual threat then it won’t warn us of anything. Gases, sleep inducing spells, passive abilities that cause other things to happen… it wouldn’t warn against that…” Pippit sheepishly explained now looking embarrassed about her ward and the limits it had.

“It’s fine Pippit, I’m sure I’m just overthinking things.”

The closer they got to the town though the worse things felt. Rion was looking around at the buildings they were encroaching on and then up to the trees; the feeling of something being off niggling his mind. It was as they reached the edge of the town though that the feeling of something being off changed into a full on siren screaming danger at him and he stopped and pulled Koiya back by his shoulder just in time for an arrow to land right in front of him. It wouldn’t have hit him if he hadn’t been pulled back but still it was close and Rion couldn’t help the growl that came from him and he looked up at their attacker ready to fight if he had to.

“Halt!” A shrill voice called out from the tree that the archer had fired from, “This is the Town of Hogarth; state your business here!”

“We are just travelers making our way out east. We’re only here for lodging for the night and we’ll be gone first thing in the morning. Now tell us why you tried to shoot us!” He looked up and finally spotted the person perched high on a platform but frowned at what he saw, or really what he didn’t see.

“Why I shot at you is no business but ours! Turn around and go away we don’t need more troubles than we already have here!”

“And if we don’t!” Koiya bellowed out full of teenage indignation and minotaur rage at nearly being attack only for another arrow to land right in front of his foot again.

“Then my family has beef for dinner…” the archer yelled down calmly even as Koiya started to tense up looking ready for a fight now.

Despite looking like cows and bulls, that was as close as the minotaur race was to them. They just shared similar features and nothing else. Minotaurs ate meat, had fingers and toes very similar to a human, and most even had an allergy to cow milk and cheese that they developed as they got older. To say that Koiya would be beef for dinner was insulting because it implied they thought he was a common bull and not a young man and Roin felt slightly angry on his behalf at the comment.

“No one will be eating anyone, thank you! But please if you won’t let us stay at least let us pass through, if we cannot stop we’d like to make good time on how far we can go before nightfall.”

“No! Now go away!” The archer yelled out harsher this time and Rion knew that whoever was up there had every intention of shooting them if they didn’t back away now.

“Well now what will we do?” Caroline asked him carefully while standing as still as stone waiting for something to happen.

“I don’t want to start something and make us enemies, let’s just-“

“JOCELYNE!” A deep voice called out from above their heads followed by the sound of large wings apparently beating in a way that signaled a landing bird, though what bird could be that large, Rion didn’t know.

Looking up he spotted some…one he guessed fall next to the archer and a bunch of harsh whispers followed that even his sensitive ears couldn’t follow. He looked to his companions and then looked around some more. There were a few people further in that were watching them and then looking up at the tall trees but nothing struck him as them being hostile so he turned his attention back to the tree right as the whispering stopped.

“Rion…?” Pippit asked concerned about what was going on and he felt her move further behind his neck and hang onto his hair a bit tighter than he would have liked.

“Everyone just stay calm…” He uses the voice and stance that he has developed from the years of being in charge of their village to convey that it’s alright. He might not like to act like he’s someone in charge and thus ‘important’ but he does know that people look towards him for guidance and if he portrays an aura of calm then it will mostly carry on to everyone else.

“Forgive her, please!” That same deep voice from before calls out towards them from above and the sounds of flapping follow sounding like whatever it is in encroaching on them, “Our town has been experiencing… problems and my youngest sister is a bit on edge, though we all are admittingly.”

The flapping got closer and Rion had to force himself to not flinch as he saw what was causing the sounds. Two forms were flying through the air towards them and now that they were closer he could see the two harpies coming in for a landing.

Much like the naga and minotaur, the harpies were a race of human like animals that the elves frowned upon and sneered at. They believed that they were the result of a man getting drunk and then getting too friendly with his hens. Not only was that in no way true, the harpy race was nothing like chickens, typically looking more along birds of prey in terms of looks than common chickens.

A tad shorter than most average men the male of the two landed first. Wearing a green tunic Rion could still make out a strong upper body and wing like arms covered in deep brown and grey feathers with the occasional black one stood atop two long legs that ended with talons with nails as sharp as bear claws before them. His face was human enough though it seemed flatter and the eyes might have been set a bit further apart than he was used to, but everything about it seemed human enough. That however was the only thing human about them as the rest of their head was covered in the same brown and grey feathers as the rest of his body.

The female, the archer that had apparently been shooting at them, was thinner than the man despite the brown tunic she wore that covered up her body. She stood just barely to his shoulder and her feathers were a lighter brown and grey than his. Her legs though were nearly the same as his but he noticed a strange ring around one of the toes on her right foot. Her face though was different than his, her eyes were hard, piercing, and didn’t leave them nor blink. She didn’t trust them that much was clear by the sheer unflinching glare she gave him when she noticed he was looking at her but he remained calm and impassive in the face of it. The last thing he took note of though was the well-crafted bow strung across her back and the large quiver of arrows she carried.

“It’s fine…” Rion said carefully, “No one was hurt and I have to admit we’ve had our own run-ins with trouble where we live. May we please enter and find a place to stay for the night though?”

“Yes, you may,” the archer looked like she was about to say something to that but he turned to glare at her before she could utter anything, “Jocelyne, will show you towards the tavern. And when you get there please have a drink on me, my name is Fletcher just tell them to put it on my tab and I’ll pay later.”

“You are most kind, Fletcher,” Rion took this moment to step forward and act the part of diplomat and leader that he had to take so often, “I am Rion Hawkings, and these are my traveling companions: Malsanred,” he motioned towards the naga who had coiled himself up, “Koiya,” who was still breathing deep through his nose even as he gestured towards him, “Caroline,” The dwarf frowned up at Jocelyne and had her arms crossed over her chest not looking at all happy with her.

“And I am Pippit,” said brownie stepped out onto his shoulder and she looked at the two of them with intense scrutiny.

Well then, welcome to our humble town,” Fletcher bowed to them grandly his wings crossed his chest and back in a humble gesture that Rion appreciated, “Now if you’ll forgive me I have to go see about some of my other duties, my sister shouldn’t trouble you nor should any of the townsfolk so long as you don’t give them any reason to.” He gave them a pointed look which Rion easily recognized.

‘We do not want trouble, we are just looking for a place to stay the night and we’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Very well,” he nodded towards them and then gave a pointed look towards his sister before spreading his wings and taking off into the air. It was majestic really to watch and Rion found himself staring after him for a moment before a huff of aggravation reached his ears and he turned to see Jocelyne pouting at them. She gave one final glare and then turned right around and started to walk off. Taking that for them to follow her Rion walked after her quickly catching up but remained quiet. She didn’t like them and he didn’t want to say anything that would set her off and make her hate them anymore than she already did.

“Here!” She turned around to face them and gestured towards a large building that had a small but empty stable on one side, “This is the tavern. Now if you excuse me I have better things to do than show strangers around.”

And before he could thank her Jocelyne flapped down hard and propelled herself up into the air before flying off from them. If he was being honest with himself he would have found the whole exchange to be a bit insulting but she was just a child being treated as such by her big brother so he supposed some snippy comments weren’t too unlikely to happen.

“Oh if that chica was one of my daughters I’d have her bent over my knee.” Caroline huffed out and Rion turned to see her with her arms crossed over her chest looking rather upset and angry.

“It is what it is, Caroline, she doesn’t trust us and so doesn’t respect us. While I don’t like how she treated us anymore than you do I can’t rightfully blame her either. Especially given how we were just treated yesterday.”

Given the huff she gives from that it’s clear to him that she doesn’t exactly either believe that or likes the fact it makes sense. Regardless though he just smiles, pats her shoulder and walks towards the door.

Inside Rion is met with a typical scene he’s seen at other types of taverns and inns. Chairs and tables set up around the room, a bar and counter with stools in front of it off to one side with a door behind it leading to what he thinks is the kitchen, and a fire pit in the middle of it all that isn’t being used, likely due to the fact it’s still summer. It wasn’t fancy, but it was serviceable in what it was supposed to be used for.

“Welcome, how can I-” A middle aged human woman stepped out from the door that lead to the kitchen and stopped short at seeing them. She was dressed sensibly as Rion would expect from a woman who was going to be on her feet working all day and dealing with food and drinks, in a simple dusty green dress with her light brown hair pulled back into a light braid.

After a moment the woman collects herself and clears her throat before starting again, “Sorry, about that, not used to new comers coming in. Welcome to my little tavern, what can I do for you all?”

“If you have any ale I’ll have a glass of that, and we were told that we could put it on Fletcher’s tab and that he’d pay you later?”

The woman stares at him for a moment unblinking before she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, “Jocelyne?”

“She shot a couple arrows at us as we were coming into town and tried to scare us away,” Rion replied evenly and had to fight down the laughter that wanted to escape him when he heard her mutter a list of curses and swears.

“I swear if Fletcher doesn’t learn to control that sister of his she’s going to get herself into major trouble one day.” She lets out a final sigh but then straightens herself up and motions for them to sit, “Well take a load off, I’ll get you that drink. Since Fletcher is paying I’ll get you the good stuff. What about the rest of you?”

“A glass of wine please,” Malsanred asked politely as he slithered over to a table to coil up by.

“Got any brandy?” When the woman nodded Caroline grinned wide, “Great! I’ll take a pitcher of that,” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple coins that she placed on the counter before going to join Malsanred, “That should cover it I hope and the rest you can take out from that chico and his loco sister.”

“And you handsome?” She looked up at Koiya who frowned for a moment not really knowing what to order.

“A glass of cider for him, and if you can also bring me a cup of milk I’d appreciate it as well,” Rion supplied for him.

“Right then, I’ll go and get that for you. Take a seat now, and just so you know: the name’s Margret.” And with that she turned and walked into the back again.

“Cider?” Koiya asked as they went to sit down unstrapping his weapons to lean against the wall before doing do

“You’re only 17 and while I’m not normally one to tell people what to do I don’t want you getting drunk out here. Get some experience with drink at home first, where you’re safe.”

Accepting that for what it is he just settles down. Rion notes that he still looks a bit tense but there’s nothing more that can be done. A moment later Margret comes out with a tray with their drinks and places it down in the center.

After asking about some board for the night she said she had one up with two beds which was fine for them. Koiya likes to sleep on the ground and Malsanred sleeps coiled around himself so it’s no trouble for them. With room settled they order some food and settled in for the evening.

There isn’t much to talk about while they wait for their meal and sip their drinks. They talk about routes and areas to best likely to avoid but there’s only so much they can speculate over old maps.

“We need something more up to date,” Malsanred points out.

“You think anyone in this town has any good maps?” Rion turns to Caroline who takes another swig of her brandy.

“Hard to say… if this place is the home of a flock of harpies though there’s a chance they could supply us some information. They tend ot know the lay of the land well what with being so high flying and all. Can’t hurt to ask I suppose…” but Rion could tell she wasn’t all that for it. He could see she was holding a grudge despite the alcohol warming her that came so naturally for her and her race.

“We’ll ask around tomorrow while we head out.” Rion decided as he glanced back at the door to see a couple men and women start to come in. It seemed like this truly was a good tavern as the people who came in all seemed to relax once they sat down, talking and unwinding after the labors of their day. It was peaceful and reminded him of their own home and places of gathering and it made him want to get back home all the faster.

While not one to typically eavesdrop on conversations at home, here in a place that was unfamiliar, Rion let his ears pick up the things that were being said. Their little welcoming had told him that something was going on and if there was ever a place to pick up information it was at a tavern.

“Still can’t believe they’re all just gone!” He hears one man complain, “Just every pot and my best axe. Nothing else, though, not even the old copper ring that my wife has had in her family for generations was taken.”

“It was so weird,” he hears another woman talk to another; “Three of the sheep were just sheered completely. There was barely any wool on them to begin with. Poor dears, I just hope they can regrow their coats well enough by winter else we might need to keep them in the stables and keep a fire going through it to keep from loosing them.”

On and on strange tales reached his ears and Rion couldn’t help but frown even as their food came to them. Something strange was indeed going on and he didn’t like the sounds of it. The only good part was that it seemed that nothing malicious was actually occurring, the bad part though was that his mind supplied a ‘yet’ to the end of that sentence.

“What are they saying?” Malsanred asked quietly as he sipped his wine.

“A lot of weird things are going on here… the harpy girl might not have been too out of line after all,” Rion replied with his eyes still looking around.

“I believe the females are called ‘Harp-hens’ and the males are called “Harp-cocks’ though they don’t care typically if you just call them Harpies,” he shrugged but looked around carefully, “But what are you thinking? Are we in any danger you think?”

Rion considered it seriously for a moment, thinking on what he had seen from Jocelyne and what he’d heard just now. Something was going on in this town but it really wasn’t any business of theirs, but staying there might make it theirs.

“Nothing dangerous I think, but I do think we should head out at first light tomorrow. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to and I think it’d be best if we had someone up to keep watch just in case.”

“I can do that easily, Mr. Hawkings,” Pippit said from his lap, a small cup she had brought with her full of milk from the cup that had been brought to them that was as tall as she was, “I’ll even place a few wards to alert us of anything coming into our room tonight.”

“Enjoying your time here?” A sudden voice caused Rion to flinch and he had to fight back the urge to attack the sudden surprise. Instead he just turned slowly and saw Fletcher heading their way with a smile on his face, which slowly turned to a frown at the sight of the cups Caroline had set to her side.

“Well Caroline is, and don’t worry she paid for all that herself, and I kept to something cheap. The food is good though,” Rion offered up raising his own cup of ale and gesturing to their plates that they’d been eating from.

“Well glad to see Margret is taking care of you. Do you mind if I sit?” At a nod Fletcher pulled a chair towards their table and sat down, “Thank you, and I again want to apologize for my sister’s behavior, she had no right to treat strangers like that and I made sure she understood that when she came back to her post.”

“Well glad to see you have some sense to discipline the chica at least,” Caroline grumbled, a pleasant blush from the alcohol dusting her cheeks, “If I had caught one of my daughters trying something like that they wouldn’t sit right for a week. I made sure to teach them manners before they could get past my apron strings.”

Fletcher shifted in his seat looking a bit uncomfortable, either at being admonished by a woman half his size or by how blunt she was Rion couldn’t tell. Either way they had someone here who was talking to them and it would have been a shame to let him go without a bit of information gathering.

“Please forgive her, she can hold her drink just fine but a few in and her tongue does get a bit loose.” That at least earned a slight chuckle from him and so he frowned thoughtfully in how best to approach things, deciding on just being straight forward to be the best route, “But while we have you here, I was wondering if I might ask a few things. Nothing personal mind you, we’re just in need of a map that’s more up to date than ours and if you feel up for it any news about what’s going on here. I’ve heard some of the whispering here and it sounds like you have some thieves or troublemakers here?”

“For a map you can try the general good store, just three structures down with a big sign on the awning that says ‘Trading’ the man there has all manner of things so I’m sure he has a map you can use. As for our troubles…” Fletcher seemed to deflate at that and shook his head, “We have no idea. It’s just a great deal of minor inconveniences that’s causing us troubles. One or two things going on wouldn’t be something so bad, but it seems like every day something new is going wrong. Some people are starting to think that the town’s been cursed by some wicked magic user or some old forgotten spirit. Course others say its all hen-chirps and just an unfortunate run of luck for us. No telling really, but you all don’t have to worry about us, we’ll be fine.”

Rion nodded to the young man at that. He had no doubt the town would be fine and regardless of if he did or did not he still had a job himself to do and didn’t have time to worry about it anyway. It was perhaps a bit mean spirited to think such things, but that was life really and maybe on their way back they’d stop in again just to check in on things. If they were still back maybe he’d come back this way and see about actually helping. At the very least it might offer up some new trades between their towns that could be beneficial to both settlements.

“Well I just wanted to check in and make sure my sister didn’t lead you into the caves or something. She’s a devious little thing when she wants to be so wouldn’t put it past her to do that. You enjoy the rest of your evening now and have a safe journey if I don’t see you before you take off tomorrow.” And with a final nod he stood back up, placed his chair back where he had gotten it, and walked away.

“I like him, he seems polite and kind,” Pippit said from below the table, drinking more of her milk.

“He’s a good kid,” Rion agreed and returned to his meal.

Soon enough the five of them finished their meals, thanked Margaret for the food and headed up to the room for the night. Pippit, true to her word put up wards around their room and once everyone was settled in crawled into their respective sleeping places and said their goodnights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harpies exist in this world and much like many animals and species the males are called one thing and the females another. What could be causing all these minor mishaps though? Well that's for the next chapter to reveal.


End file.
